I wasn't planning on a redesign, but after a bit of inspiration from @dthompsondev.bsky.social, the wheels started turning. I knew I had to create something more impactful and story-driven. I’m locking the editor on this portfolio for at least 6–12 months. djneill.com

It is my favorite time of the year! I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Been playing with Blazor and found some cool differences from React. Blazor puts UI first and logic at the bottom, but you can move the logic into a clean “code-behind” partial class to keep things tidy. Routing is also simple: just add an @page declaration in the component.

It's chili season! That's right, there are beans, jalapeños, green chillies, and it's amazing. Once the temp gets below 50 I'm ready for some chili. How do you like your chili?

Dockerized my pickleball scoreboard app and moved it from Azure ($15/mo) to Render (free). Containerized a React + .NET 9 monorepo, fixed CORS, OAuth redirects, Vite env vars, and DB configs. Cleaner deploys, better dev/prod exp., zero cost. Love when refactors simplify things.

Back on my Mac after some WinForms/WPF work. Had to use Razor Pages and remembered I’m not a Bootstrap fan. So I JS’d my .NET, added Node, tossed in Tailwind… and boom — Razor Pages in the 25th century. Here’s a quick test I ran to make sure it worked.

The hardest part of freelancing isn’t coding, it’s sales. Most people think sales means pushy, but I just want to help local businesses get seen and grow. Built a demo site for Italiano’s to show the value firsthand. Demo: italianos.netlify.app Current: italianospps.com

I finally gave my website an overdue redesign. New layout, cleaner UI, and a much better reflection of my current work. It feels good to bring some life back into something that’s been sitting stale for a while! I’d love your feedback. What do you think of the new design? djneill.com

Inspiring chat with @brittanyellich.com on time management, learning strategies, and how new devs can stand out. Her insights on AI and @github.com were top-tier. Appreciate you taking the time, Brittany! I love connecting with new people and hearing their stories about how they got into tech.

When you put things to a vote, anything can happen, and in my family, that usually means taking the road less traveled. You found the dark side of the moon. 🎃 It’s a trick, not a treat. Better luck next year!

Just launched a new site for Tacos Los Troncos. 100% across all Lighthouse scores, Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices & SEO. I love seeing the domino effect of getting small businesses online. One client’s DoorDash orders blew up once his site started ranking on Google.

I was digging through the garage looking for lights and only found one strand of red. I hung them up anyway, but when my neighbor got home, I had to tell him that next year I’m going to need at least two or three. His single strand barely covered my doorway.

Playwright might be my new favorite tool. Just added end-to-end tests to my Pickleball app, watching it log in and play a full match on its own was wild. Let’s see how long before I start breaking tests.

Playwright might be my new favorite tool. Just added end-to-end tests to my Pickleball app, watching it log in and play a full match on its own was wild. Let’s see how long before I start breaking tests.

A little jam to end the day, it's a work in progress.

Saying “but what if…” added 50 hours to a 1-hour project. Friend: Aren’t you a tech guy? Go build an app! Me: There are 100 of them already. Not worth it. Me 5 minutes later: Let’s use ASP .NET, EF, Supabase, React, unit tests, JWT, Google OAuth, and deploy to Azure.

If you’re not following @DevLeader.Ca , you’re missing out. Shoutout to @shashi.bsky.social for connecting us 2 yrs ago. Nick always gives back, AMA streams, podcasts, etc, and somehow answers every question I’ve asked. Finally thanked him & heard his insights on learning new skills.

Had an amazing time at CYC 25 (Commit Your Code)! Tons of insight on JavaScript, .NET, Cloud, AI, Java & Leadership—plus fun socials like pickleball, Truck Yard, and Fowling bowling (look it up 😅). Grateful for this community & already excited for the next one!

Playing guitar taught me that progress happens one messy session at a time. You don’t always notice improvement until one day your fingers just move smoother, faster, and easier. Same thing with coding. Stick with it. Play through the noise.

Playing softball reminds me how much team dynamics matter, on the field and in code. You don’t always need to be the slugger. Sometimes you just need to get on base, make the throw, or call it early. Everyone has strengths. The game’s better when we play to them.

Jiu-Jitsu taught me how to stay calm when things fall apart. You can be losing, stuck, gassed out, but if you stay cool, you can find a way to capitalize. Turns out that’s a useful skill when your app crashes and the logs aren’t helping. Keep breathing. Keep debugging.

Had some time for PennyWise and hit a small snag. I forgot the "Name" field in my wireframe. I didn’t notice until I added test data. 1 DB migration, 6 component refactors, 1 hook tweak, and a type update later… It's back. The ripple effect is real. Probably won’t forget again.

Whoever sent me this, my eyeballs are bleeding, and my computer just burst into flames.

Between working on budgeting & projection tools for PennyWise (my Next.js + Supabase app), I've been expanding into C#/.NET. There’s a real elegance to how things are structured in C#, especially around method organization and data handling, but I still wish the curly braces were on the same line.

I did it! Touched grass! My wife still refuses to try Jiu Jitsu. Her exact words: “Rolling around with sweaty people, feet, getting squished, trying to kill each other? No thanks. I get enough elbows just sleeping next to you.” She does love pickleball, so now I always have someone to play with.

My PennyWise dev cycle: 1 task done ✅ +4 new ones added 🔁 It might be time to MVP and chill.

I’m bringing all of my budgeting and tracking tools into a dedicated app. Something simple, practical, and useful, not just for me, but for anyone looking to take control of their finances. Focused on a smooth new user experience. You won't stare at an empty screen, wondering, "What do I do next?"

Debugging a quirky auth bug I can’t ignore. OAuth users load fine, auth completes before the dashboard shows. Email/password users hit the dashboard before client-side auth, so no sidebar user info until a refresh. Thinking about delaying the load. Anyone fix this cleanly?

My goal is to make it simple to monitor every dollar and foster better financial habits, without causing stress. ✅ Real-time financial snapshot ✅ Budgeting with dynamic category tracking ✅ Visualized spending habits ✅ Income & expense reports ✅ Account overview across checking, savings, and credit

Shredding solos and shipping code. One melts faces, the other melts servers. #CodeAndRiff

I got mine first thing Friday morning while the coffee was still brewing. You gonna get yours?

10 out of 10 I would recommend. You have 6 weeks to build a fully functional application. Managing time and prioritizing task is a must. Dennis Garcia & Aaryan Das were amazing leads too. youtu.be/XN3mN-kNv2o?...

Built a business solution MVP in just 6 weeks, tackling a pain point we know well: inefficient property management software. Proud of what we built—streamlined, user-friendly, and full of potential. Here’s our final presentation. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN3m...

This is 🔥! How can I get these made?

Excited to share a preview of the Apartment Building Management System — a full-stack project from a 6-week dev cohort. This demo covers the Tenant Dashboard (my main contribution). Full presentation w/ Admin Dashboard coming soon! #buildinpublic #devshowcase

In just 6 weeks we built a fullstack app from scratch, all while working full-time! From wireframes to Figma to database design, we made it happen. Filmed my demo and can’t wait to share! Huge thanks to @dthompsondev.bsky.social & the Dallas Software Developers group. This team was amazing!

We're lucky to have a talented designer on our team for the Dallas Software Developers Group cohort. He's pushing me to level up, and the results are looking sharp!

I underestimated the amount of logic that goes into creating a reusable phone input component. From formatting phone numbers to handling user input and validation, there’s more than meets the eye.

Sneak peek at the tenant dashboard wireframe I’ve been working on for Dallas Software Developers Group, led by Dennis Garcia & Aaryan Das. More to come soon! 👀

THIS IS THE LARGEST COHORT WE HAVE EVER HAD! Wow! The enthusiasm from our volunteer leads and cohort members was AMAZING! Dallas Software Developers Group Cohort really pushes these software developers to a level in which they can truly grow their development skills.

SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS! THIS ONE’S FOR YOU PHILLY!

👀

Let's go Birds! Ya want Philly Philly?

I had a great conversation with Kelvin Tiongson about how he’s leveraging data analytics to build powerful internal tools. His work helps Orlando Magic coaches make a bigger impact on the game of basketball through technology. Fascinating insights!

Wow, I’m blown away. Huge thanks to @nharris31.bsky.social for taking the time to chat today! This is one of those conversations I wish I had recorded, career growth, learning, interviewing. A hilarious backstory behind a beautifully crafted Master Chief art piece he uses as a bookstop.

Starting February off with a bang! I have 3 insightful coffee chats and an interview today. Excited to connect with a Senior Engineering Manager and two professionals doing interesting work within the NBA.

If you're not following @tdesseyn.bsky.social you're missing out on some great networking and job-searching advice. I honestly couldn't believe this was a 2-hour talk, it felt like 30 mins and full of golden nuggets. www.youtube.com/live/_cCmh-F...

There's some cool stuff coming out with Tailwind CSS V4. Don't want to read the docs? That's okay, @braydoncoyer.dev has you covered, this is exciting if you're using Tailwind CSS. www.youtube.com/live/zZOxkWs...

This was too good not to share, @shashi.bsky.social shared how to build micro frontends with module federation and I was blown away 🤯 . It was really cool and interesting, but whatever you do, don't bring him a pineapple pizza! buff.ly/3VtpOXL #CommitYourCode

@jacobashley.bsky.social & @jasontorres.bsky.social are having too much fun at #CommitYourCode conference